Jay Knafel
Partner, Growth
Jay is a Partner at Eclipse and leads the firm’s growth investment strategies and ECO (Eclipse Carbon Optimization).
He invests in companies that are undergoing their growth inflection point – a moment when founders must focus on institutionalizing operational processes, develop long term business strategies, and begin to lay the foundations to become a successful public company. Success at the growth inflection point enables founders to build enduring businesses.
In addition, Jay was the interim COO of Bright Machines, driving efficient and scalable processes across the global operations of the full-stack industrial automation company. Whether investing or operating, Jay is driven by the opportunity to build and strategize without preconceived notions, focusing on a company’s fundamentals and scaling its technology into a world-class business.
Prior to joining Eclipse, Jay spent six years at Fidelity, investing in global growth companies across sectors and stages of a company’s life cycle. Jay immersed himself in different business models and backed some of the best companies in the world.
Jay grew up in Pittsburgh and it remains close to his heart. Like any good yinzer, he always did things a bit differently. At the age of 13 he began working after school and on weekends to save for college… and to restore a vintage Mercedes convertible, his first car. He enjoys being outside and spending time with his family; typically losing to his momma in golf, tennis, and pickleball.
Jay graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Jay is a true partner — he has always been there to offer differentiated and thoughtful options that have helped us improve operations, product development, and our overall business model.
Itai Mendelsohn
